Does anyone know where i could find a converter that tells you how much paint you need to buy per square foot?

Question

painting the inside of a house.

Answer 1

If you look on the back of the can it usually says "covers 400 sq feet per gallon."

Measure the wall surface (subtracting size of doors and windows) and do the arithmetic. Get a little extra just in case particularly if you are covering a dark existing color or if this shade was mixed specifically for you.

Answer 2

From the pro, as a rule of thumb latex paints will cover approx 4-500 sq ft/gallon. Another rule of thumb the walls and ceilings in your home will be about three time the floor area based on an 8' stud, obviously your ceiling is basically a mirror of your floor area meaning your wall space is about twice this area, if you have a 12'stud then you should work on a basis of about 41/2 times your floor area.
eg floor area = 1000sq ft, walls/ceilings = 3000sq ft (8 ft stud).
Believe me this calculation works very well I have been painting houses for 20 odd years so I know what Im talking about here. Obviously there will be variations with some application methods, eg airless spray will use 10-20% more product, but will save much in labor. but if you follow this basic guide you should be able to work out paint quantities very accurately.

Answer 3

It will tell you on the back of the paint can how many sq. ft (and that's wall space, not sq. ft. floor space - lots of people make that mistake, but a 10x10 room with 12 foot ceilings is not the same as a 10x10 room with 8 foot ceilings when it comes to painting, even though both are 100 sq. ft. in floor space).

Take your room size, and multiply each wall width by the wall height. Then, subtract out windows and doors. This will tell you how many sq. ft. of wallspace you have.

On the back of the paint can, it will tell you how many sq. ft. that gallon covers. More expensive paint will cover more sq. ft. per gallon than the cheaper paint. Just divide your calculated sq. ft. by what the can says, and that's how many gallons you need. I always buy one extra gallon just in case.

Answer 4

Most paint will tell you the square footage it will cover but that is assuming you have already prepped the walls and or primed them if needed.

Just take your square footage to the store, read the coverage on the can and do the math.

Answer 5

Ain't no such thing. Paints differ in their coverage capability, and it depends on the method of application and the absorption of the surface. Calculate your area figures, and take them to the paint store; read labels on the cans to see how much coverage to expect per gallon -- and don't be surprised if your mileage differs.

Answer 6

Just measure the approx. sq. ft of each ceiling and walls. (W x H) Then go to the paint store and read the label on the can which will give you approx. coverage.

Answer 7

each manufacturer puts it on the label, and they are ususally pretty close in estimate. different thicknesses affect the outcome so read carefully (the avg gal is 400 sf.) buy a quality paint, not just for the brand name

Answer 8

A gallon will cover 400 square feet.

Answer 9

homedepot.com. You put in the measurments of the room or rooms and it will tell you how much to buy. I hope I helped.

Answer 10

http://web.hgtv.com/hgtv/web/calculator/1,,1,00.html